By Elly Strang

ALGAE IS MOST COMMONLY known in New Zealand as the green gunky stuff found in rivers, or the red oozy substance in your birdbath.

But over the last five years, a Nelson company, Supreme Biotechnologies, has given this peculiar little organism a new lease on life as a dietary supplement.

The company grows its own strain of algae, extracts an antioxidant called astaxanthin, and then makes a dietary supplement it sells under the AstaSupreme brand.

Now it is looking to triple production (the company has already upped output three times in the last year), and is expanding into skincare. It has also secured more than $7 million in private investment.

Supreme Technologies’ custom-kitted out building in Nelson, with its lighting and temperature control, is an unusual sight. Long, tubular bags of algae hang in rows from the ceiling in eye- catching shades of deep red and vibrant green. It looks more like an alien movie or an art gallery installation than a manufacturing plant. »